eBay

kathlblos · ‎09-13-2018

On July 9, I sent out an item to go to Germany. It still hasn't arrived. As you can see from the tracking information below, it is "Held in Customs" and has been for two months now. I don't know who to contact about this and if it is lost; I've never had a problem with international shipping before. Can anyone help?

July 14, 2018, 5:33 pm
Held in Customs
FRANKFURT/FLUGHAFEN, GERMANY
Your item is being held in Customs at 5:33 pm on July 14, 2018 in FRANKFURT/FLUGHAFEN, GERMANY.

July 14, 2018, 5:33 pm
Processed Through Facility
GERMANY

July 14, 2018, 8:08 am
Departed
FRANKFURT, GERMANY

July 14, 2018, 1:01 am
Departed
COLOGNE, GERMANY

July 13, 2018, 11:29 pm
Departed
COLOGNE, GERMANY

July 13, 2018, 10:25 pm
Departed
PARIS, FRANCE

July 13, 2018, 1:52 pm
Departed
PARIS, FRANCE

July 13, 2018, 7:52 am
Departed
PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES

July 12, 2018, 1:51 am
Arrived
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

July 11, 2018, 3:24 pm
Processed Through Regional Facility
JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER

July 11, 2018, 12:28 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER

July 11, 2018, 12:28 pm
Arrived at Regional Facility
JAMAICA NY INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER

July 10, 2018, 9:44 am
Departed USPS Facility
GUILFORD, CT 06437

July 10, 2018, 6:48 am
Arrived at Unit
GUILFORD, CT 06437

July 10, 2018, 6:39 am
Arrived at USPS Facility
GUILFORD, CT 06437

July 10, 2018, 5:48 am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
SOUTHERN CT DISTRIBUTION CENTER

July 10, 2018, 4:32 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SOUTHERN CT DISTRIBUTION CENTER

July 10, 2018, 3:24 am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
SPRINGFIELD MA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER

July 10, 2018, 12:27 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SPRINGFIELD MA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER

July 9, 2018, 12:18 pm
USPS in possession of item
GUILFORD, CT 06437

July 9, 2018, 11:37 am
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
GUILFORD, CT 06437

July 9, 2018
Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS

emerald40 · ‎09-19-2018

It has been in Customs since July.

And it might be the case but you do not know for sure it was because buyer will not pay taxes.

Since it has been escalated, I would just refund the $44 to avoid ebay doing it for you and giving you a defect.

tiramisu41 · ‎09-20-2018

@kathlblos wrote:

Given that the package is international, is there anything else I can do with the post office?

No, USPS can't do anything more. They delivered it to Germany. They don't own/control the German Customs Office which is why I suggested upthread that you contact German Customs to see if they can give you more info/locate the package.

From what I am seeing online, IF your buyer had been refusing to pay customs charges your package would have had the status message of: "Payment of charges - Item being held, addressee being notified." Yours doesn't. Additionally, apparently packages are held 14 days in German Customs for payment/pick-up and if unclaimed they are returned to sender. If that had happened, by now you should have received your package back.

TBH, I think your package is lost at German Customs. Since your buyer has filed an INR claim, it would be to your best advantage to just accept the claim and refund the buyer. Just to cover all the bases I would include tracking info within the claim along with a notation that the package appears to have been lost by German Customs.

Once you've refunded the buyer, you could try filing a lost package/insurance claim with USPS in an attempt to get your money back, though if they do pay out, it will only be for the value of the item NOT value of the item plus what you paid for postage. You could also try contacting German Customs as I suggested earlier. HTH

eastfolk · ‎10-11-2018

Wanted to throw my 2 coins. Something strange is happening to German Post.

Got a case opened against me via Paypal.

I send the item on time, I provide a tracking number, but I can not understand why should I babysit my customer to the point when I don't even have control. How the hell I am supposed to know why he wasn't home and he didn't receive the item? Don't these people receive notifications regarding their orders? What else can I do?

emerald40 · ‎10-11-2018

@eastfolk wrote:
Wanted to throw my 2 coins. Something strange is happening to German Post.
Got a case opened against me via Paypal.
I send the item on time, I provide a tracking number, but I can not understand why should I babysit my customer to the point when I don't even have control. How the hell I am supposed to know why he wasn't home and he didn't receive the item? Don't these people receive notifications regarding their orders? What else can I do?

Notices left in doors do blow away on occasion. And remember not all of us get door service where they can fly out of mailboxes of even taken by jeuveniles who think it is funny to tamper with other people's mailboxes.

But I see no reason why a seller cannot go through their recently sold listings, check tracking, and make sure all is well and everything is as it should be.

For me that is part of the overall transaction. What is wrong with a little customer service.

And for those who will say they have to may listings to do that, whose fault is that? Don't have more listings then you can adequately handle, and making sure the buyer has his item is part of it, imo.

I have dealt a lot with Germany and I can say that with France, they are two of the safer and more efficient European countries to deal with.